Museum Hours

Teaching Fellows

The Teaching Fellows are a group of paid student guides, who serve as the primary Museum educators for our K-12 school visits. Every week, they deliver dynamic tours for the many school groups who visit the Museum annually. Teaching Fellows work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that a group’s visit to the Museum is as meaningful as possible, crafting a customized, thematic tour that aligns with a class’ curricular goals.

Teaching Fellows are full-time students at Belhaven University, Jackson State University, Millsaps College, or Tougaloo College who are chosen for their academic rigor and interest in teaching and museums. Coming from a breadth of disciplinary interests, they are extensively trained on the museum’s permanent collection on an ongoing basis. The Teaching Fellows Program is generously supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Becoming a Teaching Fellow is ideal for a person with an interest in museums, history, child development, or education and offers both course-credit through independent study and a $2,500/semester stipend (as earned through fulfilling hourly time commitments). The Museum accepts applications on an annual basis for its Teaching Fellows. The application period is open from January 1 to February 28 each year. All applications are reviewed, at which point a select number of applicants will be contacted for an interview. Interviews are conducted during the month of March, and all applicants will be notified of the final decision in early April. Please note that the application process is very competitive, with a new cohort size limited to eight individuals.

Questions? Contact the Director of School and Academic Programs, Isabel Gray, at 601.965.9909 or igray@msmuseumart.org.

MEET THE 2017-2018 TEACHING FELLOWS:

GRAYSTON BARRON is a junior at Millsaps College, double majoring in studio art and art history with a concentration in museum studies. She is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. She spends her spare time playing for the Millsaps Women’s soccer team, drawing, painting, running, and napping. Grayston applied for the Teaching Fellow program in the hopes of gaining valuable museum experience and improved research skills. She says that the opportunity to work with kids is a big bonus! After college, Grayston is considering graduate school.

LA’TRICE RAMSEY is an English and creative writing major at Tougaloo College where she is involved in the pre-alumni council, P.E.N.S. (Poetry, Essays, Narratives, and Stories), and the NAACP. As a sophomore, La’Trice already has multiple career plans, two of those being art critic and English-Literature professor. She is originally from Natchez, Mississippi, and decided to apply to the Teaching Fellow program because of her interest in art education. She’s looking forward to the learning experience and the training. In her spare time, La’Trice enjoys writing poetry and painting, especially while watching documentaries.

LAUREN SHELBY is a senior history major with an emphasis in African American studies at Tougaloo College. Originally from Ridgeland, Mississippi, Lauren chose to apply to be a Teaching Fellow to explore her desire for teaching and to try something new that makes her step out of her comfort zone. She’s looking forward to learning about art and artists from Mississippi, all while gaining insight on how to teach and give tours. Lauren enjoys performing in the Tougaloo College Concert Choir (you can occasionally catch her singing the National Anthem at Mississippi Braves games), watching movies, spending time with friends and family, and reading and drinking coffee on rainy days. After graduation, Lauren wants to attend graduate school and pursue a doctoral degree.

GENESIS RANEL, of Zachary, Louisiana, is a Millsaps student majoring in history. Genesis applied to be a Teaching Fellow because she was excited about the opportunity to combine her love of learning and the arts. She hopes to gain perspective on whether museum work is in her future and if she’d like to pursue teaching at the college level. In her spare time, Genesis enjoys reading and spending time with her family. At Millsaps, Genesis serves as a mentor for the Millsaps Pathways to Success program and is an active member of Model UN and the Black Student Union.

LYDIA DILEY, a history major and music minor at Belhaven University, is from Brandon, Mississippi. She applied to the Teaching Fellow program because she believes museum work is extremely important, especially when it involves teaching others. Through this program, Lydia hopes to gain experience in her career field and to help strengthen each student’s love of art and history. In her spare time, Lydia enjoys crafting with “anything and everything—including sewing, crocheting, even power tools.” Lydia is a junior, and after graduating hopes to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder for her master’s degree and eventually PhD in the hopes of becoming a full-time historian and museum director.

JANEYA SMITH is a graduate student in political science at Jackson State University. Originally from Seattle, Washington, by way of Denver, Colorado, Janeya applied to the Teaching Fellow program for the opportunity to explore the world of teaching and museum work. She hopes that through this program she’ll learn to view art through a new set of lenses. In her spare time, Janeya enjoys traveling, trying new foods and movies, and sleeping. She loves learning and has considered the possibility of teaching in public schools. Janeya hopes to one day open a homeless day shelter in the southern United States.

RETURNING TEACHING FELLOWS:

DARIA BUTORINA is a returning Teaching Fellow from Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine. She is a senior studio art major at Jackson State University where she plays also tennis. Daria says she is looking forward to seeing a new group of kids at the Museum this year. She loved how each child she encountered had an individual personality, and she says she learned a lot from each of them. Her experience as a Teaching Fellow was certainly a unique one, considering the language barrier she faced. Daria said that her experience helped her to conquer her fear of speaking in public and she is looking forward to helping the current Teaching Fellows discover and increase their full potential. After graduation Daria is planning to apply to graduate school in art history or art education.

DETRICE ROBERTS is excited to return to the Teaching Fellow program for a second year! She received her bachelor’s degree from Tougaloo College and master’s in history from Jackson State University. Detrice currently works in the Study Abroad office at Tougaloo. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois, but knows and loves Jackson. She originally became involved in the Teaching Fellow program because of her love of art and working with children. Detrice knows she ultimately wants to teach, whether it be in a museum or in the classroom. In her spare time, Detrice likes to feed the homeless, paint, listen to music, and knit.